Digital
Chapter 6 - Keshiki
by Senashenta

I don't own Digimon or Lord Of The Rings!

Dedication #1: Allison!: *weeps* I know, I know it's been five months! I'm sorry! *bows repeatedly* Gomen nasai! Sometimes I hit a major batch of writers block and there's nothing I can do about it! ;_; (One of my fics sat for nearly NINE months before I updated! O_o;; People were getting a mite annoyed by the time I did...) Thank you so much for not giving up on me, though! *huggles* Much love!

Dedication #2: Lady Fox!: ^_^ Yes, I am going to continue! lol. Okay, first -- have you read "Company"? That story of mine came before "Digital", though I guess you can read them separately. Now, in "Company" the 02 Chosen (Daisuke & co.) as well as most of the Tamers are about 18 or 19 years old. (Most of the 01 Chosen are older, and Iori or Shuichon are only about 15 or 16, but you get the idea, ne? ^_~) "Digital" takes place about five months after "Company", so they're all about the same age as then. ^^ The three main Digimon characters in "Company" were Takeru, Ken & Ruki, and that continues in "Digital" (though the others are there, so they have to share the spotlight) so yes, this is (kind of) a Ruki-centered fic. *loves Ruki to bits despite her attitude* ^^;; Now! Hee... yeah, I kind of worked up a Ruki/Legolas relationship in "Company", though for most of it, Legolas was just trying to get past Ruki's attitude and to the person she was underneath. *loves Legolas as much as she loves Ruki* Anyway, watch as their relationship progresses throughout the fic, ne? Should be fun! Finally! *giggle, giggle* Frodo and Legolas say 'hi' back!

Frodo: Hi!

Legolas: Hi!

=D Kawaii yo! ^^ *huggles again* I love you guys!

....see? TONS of notes! I beg your forgiveness! Now, for those of you who've actually stuck it out for FIVE months (a thousand humble apologies again, minna-san!), I give you the long-awaited sixth chapter of "Digital"! *triumphant music* ^^;;

~Digital~
~Chapter Six~

"-HOW DARE YOU IMPLY THAT DWARVES ARE NO MORE THAN-"

"Um-"

"-WE HAPPEN TO BE A PROUD AND NOBLE-"

"See, I'm sure he didn't mean-"

"-NOT TO MENTION BRAVE AND-"

"He's sorry, so-"

"-TO SUGGEST THAT WE'RE JUST-"

Takeru sighed from his seat at one of the long tables. Gimli had been ranting for a good ten minutes now, and didn't show any intentions of stopping. Daisuke's exclamation of "WHAT are the rest of them-?!" had set him off, and now the goggled boy was cowering from the Dwarf, hiding behind Taichi and peeking out from around the older boy in fear.

Taichi was trying to make peace between them, which was hard given the fact that Gimli was brandishing an axe and wouldn't let him have a word in edgewise.

Legolas was standing behind his friend, trying to calm him down. Merry and Pippin were ignoring the ruckus in favor of curiously poking and prodding Guilmon- who was giggling insanely, bless his cute digimon heart. Frodo and Sam were watching the altercation worriedly and whispering under their breaths, and Aragorn had sat down at the table next to Takeru, rubbing his temples and muttering to himself about how he was going to 'hunt him some Dwarf' if Gimli didn't stop soon.

"Headache?" Takeru asked.

"Hm." Aragorn nodded, glancing up as Gimli's tirade continued.

"-YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A DWARF IS?! YOU-"

"I'll get you some aspirin in a sec." The blond stood, ignoring the confused look he got from Aragorn at the mention of 'aspirin'; "I just have to deal with this first..." walking over, he looked from Gimli to Taichi and Daisuke, and back again, then, ignoring Ken (who was making 'do, don't!' gestures from where he was standing) he silently reached out and snatched the axe from Gimli's hands.

"-HEY!"

Silence fell over the room as Takeru calmly shifted the axe from one hand to the other and stared down at the TERRIBLY angry Dwarf. In the corner, Renamon appeared without a word, to watch, her paws full of rolled papers. Behind Gimli, Legolas was scraping for words and trying to keep his mouth from hanging open in a very undignified way.

Nobody stole a Dwarf's weapon...

"Takeru!" Gimli snarled, "what in the NINE HELLS do you think you're doing?!"

Clearing his throat, the Chosen of Hope replied, "stopping your rant."

Flatly. "Give. Me. Back. My. Axe."

"No."

Gimli sputtered, shocked. "WHAT?!"

"No." Sighing, he continued, "you don't need it right now, and all you're doing is terrifying Daisuke. He probably thinks you're going to chop him into firewood. So you're not getting it back yet. In any case, you need to stop your shouting so that Dai can apologize properly and we can all sit down and figure out what the hell is going on."

Gimli stared.

Okay, EVERYONE stared.

Finally, Daisuke spoke. "Um...I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to piss you off."

The Dwarf glanced at him. "Fine." He said gruffly, then to Takeru, "can I have my axe back now?"

Takeru handed it over without a word and then went back to his seat. "I had to do something." He told Aragorn, who was chuckling. "Or he'd've kept going all day and NOTHING would've gotten done."

"I agree."

"So," the blond looked around. "What do we do first?"

"Here."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Renamon appeared beside him, dropping the three rolled papers she'd been holding onto the table in front of him. Glaring at her, he snapped, "damn it, Renamon! Will you STOP sneaking up on me like that?!"

She regarded him calmly, but he thought he could see her moth trying to twitch into a smile as she responded, "I'm not."

"You're-?" Sighing, Takeru shook his head and reached for the papers. "What're these?"

"Maps."

"MAPS?"

"Yes." Renamon nodded. "I took the liberty of exploring the city." Taking a map, she quickly unrolled it. "There are several landmarks missing -- Tokyo Tower, for example, is nowhere to be found. There are also things that ARE here that should not be...."

As she spoke, the others had crowded around to listen and watch as she pointed out discrepancies. Takeru glanced up at Ken, who was watching with worried interest, and then at Ruki. She was frowning, seeming unable to decide between annoyance and anger. Shuichon had dug into a pouch she was carrying on her hip and produced a black pen, which she handed to Renamon without a word.

"Here, where the Harbor should be, the edge of the city runs into a flat plain that goes on for several miles and then ends at a rock face- a cliff that plummets to the Pacific Ocean below," the digimon continued, using Shuichon's pen to mark out what she was saying overtop of the map of Tokyo, "-and here there is a mountain chain, that runs out into the ocean at this point, opposite from the cliffs-" looking up, Renamon paused, "there also seems to be two points of origin for the Orcs, as far as I can see."

"Where?" Aragorn asked.

Renamon's eyes flicked to him and then back to the map. "Here, beyond the plains, is one. There's a fortress, from what I can tell." She glanced around, making sure everyone was paying attention, "the second point is here, north of the new mountain chain- from what we were told in Middle Earth, the land here has been converted into something remarkably similar to Mordor...."

"WHAT?!" Ken yelped.

"I take it that's bad?" Juri said softly.

"Renamon," Takeru rubbed a temple, "are you saying Toyko's being mixed with Middle Earth?"

Renamon nodded shortly. "It seems that way."

"Hn." Ruki's eyes skimmed over the map, "we know Mordor is here, but what about the other lands of Middle Earth? Rivendell, or Moria? Gondor?"

Shaking her head, Renamon shook her head. "I can't be sure. This is all that I could find. Aside from a few buildings and shrines being missing, and forests or swamps having sprung up in their place, Mordor and this fortress-" she tapped the place she had circled, "I don't think any more of Middle Earth is here."

"Maybe...." Everyone turned to look at Miyako, who was chewing a nail worriedly. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she silently dug her D-Terminal out of her pocket, "maybe the merge with this Middle Earth place isn't complete...."

Taichi frowned, "what do you mean?"

"Look," tapping the screen of her Terminal, Miyako continued, "maybe whatever- or whoever- is turning our Earth and Middle Earth into one place didn't account for the Digital World."

Hirokazu looked confused. "What're you talking about?"

Miyako waved him away irritably, "if the person who's melding our worlds together didn't know about the Digital World, then they would have THOUGHT they were only dealing with two worlds, and instead were dealing with three!"

"Um...."

Giving an exasperated sigh, Miyako threw her hands into the air. "Doesn't anyone understand what I'm talking about?!"

"I think I get what you're saying," Lee told her thoughtfully. "Since the Digital World is a intricate part of this Earth, some of Middle Earth might have been transferred to the Digital World instead...."

"So there might be more of Middle Earth trapped in the Digital World." Ken finished for them, gesturing to Miyako's D-Terminal. "When we were trying to contact everyone, we didn't try the Digimon. Miyako, give it a try now. If what you're saying is true, then we might have more of a problem than we thought we did."

Takeru rested his head in his hand, propping himself up on his elbow. <So we might have THREE totally screwed-up worlds, instead of just two. Shit. And I thought we were in trouble before....what the HELL is happening?>

There was a long silence as Miyako began to tinker with her Terminal, muttering to herself and cursing almost silently when it wouldn't work for the right away. The differences in the dimension might have caused the Terminal to malfunction, so it wasn't unexpected, but it didn't make it any less frustrating.

After a few moments, Renamon vanished again, saying she was off to scout some more; no one objected, as she was their best hope of learning the new landscape of Tokyo.

Merry and Pippin went back to playing with Guilmon, only this time Terriermon joined in as well. Now that he was calm again, Gimli took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Taichi (whom he had nothing against, despite his earlier ranting), as well as Iori and Shuichon, who were terribly curious about Middle Earth in general. Hirokazu and Kenta began asking Daisuke questions about being a Chosen Child, while Sam and Frodo listened intently and tried to understand just what a Chosen Child WAS, and Hikari and Juri curiously got Legolas to explain some of the pros and cons of being an Elf.

Lee worked with Miyako on the D-Terminal, and Ken soon joined them. In no time, the three of them were in a technical-world that very few would have understood.

Ruki was silently setting up a makeshift practice-gallery in an empty corner, using some plates and bowls from the kitchen. She'd pushed a table up against the wall and leaned the china on it. Soon she was honing her not-forgotten archery skills (and muttering about how crappy the workmanship on the bow was) and breaking plated left and right.

Takeru shook his head. <Not that I couldn't use some practice....>

"So...." Takato cleared his throat, making Takeru and Aragorn glance up. "Just out of curiosity, since we've been here for a while....are we planning on having something to eat, since we ARE in the cafeteria?"

At the mention of food, Guilmon's head came up and he bounced over, Terriermon clutching his head and trying not to fall off. "Takatomon!" The dinosaur-digimon whined, "I'm hungry! There was no breakfast today!"

Takato sighed, "I know, Guilmon."

Takeru had to grin. "Digimon are bottomless pits."

"Yup!" Terriermon agreed brightly. "So how 'bout it?"

"I could go for something!" Pippin called from across the room, "it's about time for second breakfast, anyway!"

Aragorn groaned and shook his head.

Ken looked up long enough to point out, "we couldn't be in a better place...."

"Who's going to cook?" Shuichon wondered.

"Hey, I will!" Daisuke piped up, "me n' Taichi'll cook! Right Taichi?"

"Uh, sure, I guess...."

"Cool!"

The goggled-boy headed into the kitchen with his predecessor right behind him, humming to himself as he went. After a second, Takato shrugged and dashed after them with Guilmon on his heels.

"Uh," Lee said after a second of silence, "are we sure we want to eat something THEY come up with?"

Ruki snorted but said nothing.

"Oh, come on!" Juri assured them, "I'm sure they're-" she was interrupted by a series of ear-shattering crashes, followed by incoherent shouting, and winced. "Then again...."

Hikari giggled, "you were saying?"

"Hey...." Terriermon looked up, nose twitching, "am I the only one who smells smoke?"

"Oh jeez." Iori shook his head.

Hirokazu, meanwhile, was laughing his head off.

"Maybe someone should go in there and supervise?" Shuichon wondered, "before we all die in a horrible inferno from the kitchen?"

Everyone stared at her.

She blinked, "what?"

Lee shook his head, "much as I hate to say it, Shuichon's right."

"Hey!"

"Merry and I'll do it," Pippin volunteered, "c'mon Merry!"

More silence as the two Hobbits vanished behind the swinging door.

"So...." Ken began, then trailed off. "Are we sure we're any better with Merry and Pippin in there, too?"

Sam sighed, "they may be idiots, but they CAN cook."

"He's right." Frodo agreed, "we should be fine."

<I'll believe it if no one dies of food-poisoning....> Takeru thought, then reprimanded himself mentally. The Hobbits were a pain, sometimes, but he knew they had hearts of gold, AND he knew that they could cook. He'd eaten their cooking before. <So as long as they don't let Dai do it, we'll all live to tell the tale....>

Thwack!

The Child of Hope looked up at the sound of an arrow whirring through the air, followed by the crash of a plate shattering. His eyes followed Ruki as she set up another arrow and prepared to sent another plate to meet it's maker.

"Hey, that's pretty cool!" Kenta exclaimed.

"I didn't know Ruki could do that," Juri said, then addressing Takeru, "is that something you learned in Middle Earth as well?"

Takeru nodded, "Ken and Ruki and I...."

Legolas eyed the bow she was using, "your aim is off a bit." He told her, "but I can't blame you, using that...."

Ruki sighed, "this was the best we could come up with."

"Here-" pacing over, the Elf silently handed her his own bow. "Practice with this. I'll see what I can do about fixing yours."

<Gee, romance blooms....> Takeru shook his head. He'd seen the growing bond between Ruki and Legolas the first time they'd been thrown together, and it seemed to have remained. <I wish him luck. If he can get through her Ice-Bitch facade, more power to him.>

"Hey, Takeru!"

"Hm? What Iori?"

"Why don't you show us what you can do?"

The blond blinked, "like, archery?"

Iori grinned, "sure. A contest between you and Ruki."

A half-frown. When had Iori become so competitive? "I don't stand a chance if she's got an Elven bow."

"Still," Miyako looked up from her Terminal for a second, eyebrow raised. "It'd be interesting to see."

"Looks like you're outnumbered." Aragorn said under his breath.

Takeru shot him a look that clearly said 'you stay out of this' and sighed, defeated. "I suppose...." standing, he reached for the bow he's brought with him and slung a quiver- one of many they'd brought from the store-room- over his shoulder.

"Well," he said to Ruki, who was waiting for him in the corner, having just set up more plates to be broken. "Who's going to clean this up in the end?"

A snort. "Does it matter?"

Takeru gave her a wry grin, "you're looking forward to kicking my ass, aren't you?"

Ruki shrugged, "maybe. Not that it's fair, with my using Legolas' bow."

"True."

The girl reached for an arrow and expertly set it, "ready?"

Without waiting for a reply, she let the arrow fly- it struck a plate, directly center, and sent china shrapnel flying. Takeru took a moment to check his bow and then released an arrow of his own, breaking another plate.

"Hey, guys! We've got food for- oh...." Takato, who'd just come from the kitchen, broke off when he noticed what was going on. Silently, he and the others (who had emerged with platters of sandwiches and other things) watched as Ruki took her turn.

The orange-haired girl silently knocked another arrow, sending it flying. It struck a third plate, shattering it, and stuck in the wall of the school.

Takeru's arrow followed shortly, connecting with the flight of Ruki's arrow and splitting it down the middle. He stepped back with a pleased grin, then shook his head, sighing when a final arrow from Ruki's bow whipped forward the split HIS arrow in two.

"Looks like I win."

"Well," Takeru unstrung his bow. "I'm not surprised in the least. Next time, though, I use the Elven bow and YOU use one that was made on Earth."

Was it just him, or did Ruki almost smile? He was about to comment on it when her eyes narrowed and she shoved him out of the way. Taking a few steps forward, she shouted, "Renamon!" And when the fox-like digimon appeared, she said. "Tell me this isn't...."

Takeru blinked, surprised.

"Hey," Sam called, "did it just get foggy in here, or is it me?"

"Renamon?!"

Renamon looked grim. "Yes, Ruki, it is."

"God DAMN IT!"

Lee was on his feet instantly, "no way!"

"Guys!" Hirokazu shouted, "it's a Digital Field-!"

<Oh fuck....> Takeru barely had time to register what was going on before the feeling of being digitized washed over him, and everything went white.

**********

Me: Um....gomen? *bows repeatedly* I am soooo sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I had a lot to do, and I had a family crisis during the summer, and ALL of my writing got behind, not just this!

Takeru: You're just lazy.

Me: WHAT?! That is SO not true!

Takeru: Suuuure....

Ken: That's not nice, Takeru.

Takeru: What? She deserves it! She left all those readers hanging for FIVE MONTHS!

Ruki: For once, I agree with Hope Boy.

Taichi: So, what's a Digital Field?

Ruki: *rolls eyes* You Chosen really ARE clueless!

Hikari: To be fair, there's no such thing as a Digital Field in our Earth.

Me: Uh, guys?

Lee: That's true, Ruki.

Takato: You really need to lighten up.

Me: Guys?

Ruki: Why don't you two just stay out of it?!

Me: Hello?

Everyone: *continues to bicker*

Me: *sweatdrop* ^^;; Guess we've got nothing productive to say right now....

Iori: What's going to happen to us?

Me: Iori-chan! You'll just have to wait and see!

Shuichon: Perfect....